Check out this chat between Anthony Moore and LBB’s Zoe Antonov to get an idea of the exciting projects yet to come from Factory!
The pair discuss how we’re taking things forward here on Margaret Street, with new talent, new spaces and new adventures inbound…
Give it a read here⭐️
Factory Studios are looking for a Transfer Manager with strong leadership skills, team management experience and exceptional knowledge in post-production workflows & deliverables.
Factory Studios are a world leading audio post-production studio specialising in the art of sound design & storytelling for advertising, TV, immersive and film.
Our culture is built on values that are essential to who we are.
These include the importance of being respectful and empathetic to your colleagues and clients, to work well within a team, to be accountable for your responsibilities and actions and to have a passion for all things sound and music; this is what we look for when joining our team.
About the Role
The Transfer Manager will be responsible for a small, technically skilled Transfer team and will report to the Executive Creative Director. This role will involve the day-to-day management of the team, the efficient running of the studios with respect to the technical requirements of every project, and to trouble-shoot issues from a workflow perspective. The Transfer Manager will also work closely with the Technical Director to ensure all technical capabilities and plans are implemented and maintained on a regular basis.
Your Core Responsibilities
1. Lead and manage a small team of technical professionals, providing guidance and support in day-to-day operations of audio and visual media assets and deliverables.
2. Oversee the transfer process and studio prep for all projects, including stereo, surround, and Dolby Atmos formats.
3. Ensure that all required deliverables are completed and QC’ed accurately, on schedule, and meet industry standards.
4. Maintain and troubleshoot studio software and hardware, providing advanced technical support for Avid ProTools, Dadman, S6 consoles, and other audio systems.
5. Collaborate with the whole team to ensure smooth workflows and efficient technical support.
6. Assist with general IT and networking solutions within the studio, ensuring all systems are functioning optimally.
7. Assist in the implementation and optimization of new technologies and systems within the studio environment.
Things that you’ll need
Strong alignment with our core values
At least three years' experience in a post-production machine room
Strong people skills and experience in managing a team
A desire to progress as a manager in a technical studio environment.
What we offer
Salary package based upon skills and experience.
Discretionary performance bonus.
Private Medical Insurance, cash plan and EAP.
In-house training and mentorship scheme.
26 days holiday, plus all Bank holidays and holiday over the Christmas period.
Our Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
We believe strongly that diversity is one of our greatest strengths—that the more perspectives we bring to the mix, the better we are as people and the better partner we are for our clients. So, in considering if Factory is a good fit for you, know that all we care about is that you’re qualified to do the job, share our values, and want to be here. These are the things we’ll be evaluating for every applicant. If you meet those and add to our team’s diversity, all the better.
To apply, please send your cover letter and CV to ben@factory.uk.com
THE EXCLUSIVE FIRST EDITION – LIMITED TO 500 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES
Estimated Shipping Date: Early 2025
Get your copy through the link here!
For over six years, Dan Hawcroft lived a whirlwind life as the personal assistant to Ian Fraser Kilmister—better known as the legendary Lemmy from Motörhead. From humble beginnings in his band’s rehearsal space to touring the world and managing his own independent music venue, Dan's remarkable journey is now documented in this unique rock ’n’ roll collector’s item.
Featuring a foreword by Wes Orshoski, co-director and producer of the acclaimed 2010 documentary Lemmy, the book is filled with Dan's candid reflections and often hilarious tour stories, documenting the highs and lows of life on the road, where drugs, parties, and the unpredictable nature of live music collide.
Alongside unique illustrations from a host of international artists, the book also includes over five hours of exclusive audio conversations with special guests featured in its pages, hosted by Billy Lunn, singer and guitarist of The Subways.
This debut publication from Factory Originals—a creative content studio by the award-winning London-based sound and music collective Factory Studios—features stunning art direction and print design by ZIP Design.
Factory Studios, London’s award-winning sound design collective, is proud to announce some exciting promotions across its senior team. Jack Hallett and Mark Hills are promoted to the roles of Creative Director and James Utting takes on the position of Senior Sound Designer.
Jack and Mark will be spearheading the growth and development of the Studio’s talented audio team. These promotions come off the back of numerous award wins and nominations for the duo's cutting-edge sound design and creative insight. Jack and Mark have also become an integral part of Factory’s senior team as the business sets its sights on the future and new opportunities for growth in exciting spaces.
With a recent win for Sound Design at the British Arrows, Hallett’s role as a Creative Director will see him focus on the development of up-and-coming talent within Factory. Hallett continues,
“I am absolutely buzzing to step into the role of Creative Director at Factory Studios, a place I've been proud to call home for over a decade. This renowned studio, filled with an incredible team of talented individuals, has always been close to my heart. I’m excited to lead innovative projects and to mentor and support our emerging talent as we continue to push creative boundaries together.”
With Factory’s recent move into new media and immersive formats, Mark Hill’s role as Creative Director will also allow him to focus on developing the Studio’s technical excellence in these new audio spaces. Hills’ award-winning work coupled with his commitment to mixing techniques and future technical advances make him well-placed to lead the team on this exciting new journey, as Hills explains,
“I'm extremely proud and excited to be taking on the role of Creative Director at Factory. I joined the team almost eight years ago, and in that time - I have been fortunate enough to be part of a series of huge upgrades and improved workflows within the studio environment. Cloud-based collaboration has enabled near real-time project sharing across the team, our newly upgraded studios have never looked or sounded better, and the addition of Dolby Atmos to our suites has given us a new world of exciting opportunities to create fully immersive soundscapes. Coupled with advancements in AI technology, our focus is on using these new tools to supercharge our creativity and push boundaries to continue creating excellent work.’
Jack and Mark will be working closely with Factory Studios ECD Jon Clarke in this exciting new era of growth for the business, Clarke says
“Jack and Mark are the perfect Creative Directors to help push the team forward for the next chapter of Factory Studios. Following our recent refurb and studio upgrades, we can now offer clients improved workflows and flexibility across all formats in each of our creatively focused audio suites. Jack and Mark have been integral to developing this ‘future thinking’ ethos to our work to keep Factory at the cutting edge of audio post-production.”
Alongside the Studio’s new Creative Directors, Factory is also pleased to announce the promotion of James Utting to Senior Sound Designer. With standout work for the BBC’s Paris 2024 Olympics campaign, Apple’s Lost Voice and EE’s Battle Stations, Utting’s work continually pushes creative boundaries, as he explains,
“I’ve been fortunate to have an incredible career at Factory Studios, where creativity is nurtured, and staff are genuinely supported. Working here has given me the opportunity to collaborate with some of the most talented creative teams in the industry on projects for world-renowned brands. As a Senior Sound Designer, I contribute both creatively and technically, which is deeply fulfilling. Beyond sound design, I’ve been leading the development of our Dolby Atmos workflows, leveraging our recent studio upgrades to ensure we offer clients a full range of cutting-edge immersive formats.”
Jon Clarke adds,
“James’s work is nothing short of incredible. He is a pure homegrown Factory talent and a real inspiration to the younger members of our team. James’ rise through the ranks from runner to Senior Sound Designer shows what’s possible with hard work and commitment. His work just gets better and better, and I can’t wait to hear what he creates in his new role.”
These senior promotions are the culmination of a yearlong refurb and upgrade project at Factory Studios. With six Dolby Atmos capable sound suites and a focus on putting audio creativity at the heart of every project, the Studios collective is perfectly placed to continue delivering outstanding work for their clients as they head excitedly into 2025.
For more information or to speak to Factory about an upcoming project, please contact ciara@factory.uk.com
Factory Studios is on the hunt for a Junior Audio Producer / Social Media Co-ordinator to join our vibrant team.
About Us
Factory Studios is a multi-award-winning sound design and audio facility based in Central London. Our highly skilled team specialises in the art of storytelling with sound and music.
The Role
As a key member of our team, you’ll have a dual role:
About You
We’re looking for someone who:
What We Offer
How to Apply
Sound like your dream role?
Send your CV and a covering letter to ciara@factory.uk.com and lou@factory.uk.com
Tell us why you’re the perfect fit!
Televisual take an in-depth look at the launch of our newly upgraded sound suites and chat to the team about ‘The Art of Sound Design’ here at Factory. With Dolby Atmos capability now embedded across all six studios, our Margaret Street home has been revamped for the future with creativity placed firmly to the fore. The new rooms have launched in style, with stunning new projects for Channel 4, Apple, Virgin Media, EE and the BBC all taking advantage of our improved spaces and workflows. Featuring insights from industry leaders Lynsey Atkin, Sam Brown, Alice Tonge, Ben Mooge, Sally Pritchett, Nikki Cramphorn and Dougal Wilson, you can read the full Televisual article here!
In collaboration with Not Just Any, Factory and SIREN have launched “The Next Course” - a supper club for up-and-coming Creatives and Producers! ✨
We kicked off the night with cocktails and ended with a special live performance from The Staves!
Thank you so much to everyone who came together for the first event - hope you had as much fun as we did ❤️
Factory’s Jon Clarke and Work Editorial’s Rich Orrick break down the layers of sound design, composing and editing that made ‘Considering What?’ the film that really put the Paralympics into perspective.
“It’s not often that you see briefs like this,” says Factory executive creative director Jon Clarke about Channel 4’s newest Paris 2024 Paralympic Games campaign. “It was one of the treatments that get your head buzzing with ideas as soon as you read it.”
The campaign positions Paralympians as exactly what they are – world-class athletes, not competitors ‘overcoming’ their disabilities. Dubbed ‘Considering What?’, the film presents viewers with the varying reactions of the Paralympics audiences, often subtly underlined with pity, all spun around the culminating line “She’s doing so well, considering…”
Parallel to the backhanded commentary, we watch athletes Aaron Phipps, Sarah Storey and Emmanuel Oynbo-Coker dominating the forces standing against them – gravity, friction and time – and ultimately coming out victorious.
It was these forces that gave Factory Studios the free creative range to create the chaotic, but rhythmic, soundscape, which is so unique about the film. “The vision was to create a soundtrack made entirely out of the struggles and the elemental forces that Paralympians face,” comments Jon. “It gave me a unique chance to blend sound design, music and voice over into one cohesive piece and make something really innovative.”
The result is a symphony of thuds, breaks, laughter, screams, grunts and an array of recorded and pre-existing sounds, all coming together with Rich Orrick’s equally genius edit, to show us, the viewer, what the Paralympics are actually made of.
Here, Jon and Rich tell LBB’s Zoe Antonov more about the unique challenges of the campaign.
Jon> The brief was to keep things as raw as we could and not overly stylise the sound, instead focusing on building rhythm out of the action on screen and the elemental forces that are metaphorical characters in the film. This presented a unique challenge and required a close working relationship with the editor, Rich Orrick, to make it work. We supplied an initial mood board of SFX cut to a tempo-mapped kick drum, giving him a specific pacing to edit to. This was crucial to make sure we would have the flexibility later to change and manipulate the offline sound and make sure we were hitting the edit perfectly across the main film and cut downs.
I’ve spent a lot of time over the years working as both a sound designer and composer and getting to seamlessly work in both disciplines of the job at the same time is what I love. It really gives you the opportunity to let both parts inform each other and make something unique.
Jon> We knew from the start that in order to achieve the synergy between the SFX and edit, we needed to have a close relationship with Rich. It needed a real collaborative approach to make the whole thing work. We started off by creating a batch of SFX for Rich to have on hand in the edit as well as some rough test ideas with beats made from SFX working off the script. We supplied all this to Rich before he started editing, so that he had things to work with and specifically had a good tempo map to lock into. What came back from him was incredible and was the start of the whole Idea. He managed to cut some really interesting rhythms into the edit with the shoot sound and the offline already showed how visceral and emotional the final film could be, giving us a great base to go and expand on.
Rich> The brief I had was to use the elements filmed to then create a rhythm and build this into a musical track of sorts. So the two very much developed in tandem. Firstly I built out some of the scenes in a fuller form, and added sound to the actions happening in them. I then decided to base the timing of the 'track' on the laughter. Jon helped with timing out a bar of his laughter and then supplied a click track based off that which I could use for tempo throughout.
I then built the edit by creating a percussive bunch of hits to the ceiling and laughter from gravity, and repeating shots, essentially using them as building blocks for percussive sounds. Then that continued throughout each of the forces, using the whoop of the friction character as another sound bed element, and also keeping hits from gravity running through, so that the track builds more and more.
Alongside this building of a 'track' was also the building up of the separate stories and their resolutions, so in short, yes, the two developed simultaneously.
Once the edit was approved, Jon then took the track I'd built and used his skills to create something from that that was a little more harmonious as an overall piece of music.
Jon> The sounds are a mixture of bespoke recordings, shoot sound and library. It took a long time trying to decide what to use! There was a lot of trawling through the audio rushes for the best vocal parts and impacts.
We also recorded the foley bespoke with a great team led by Shane Tremlin at Foley House in Bristol. What was interesting was as soon as we started laying foley against the percussive beats it served to add more depth in places but muddy or clash in others. It meant we needed to really curate what we included by cheating the timings, removing things and really thinking about how the audience would listen to the piece as a whole. The team at 4creative were great and gave us a lot of creative licence to try things, because the script is so multilayered in its narrative and use of metaphor. The shackles were off when creating the soundtrack, there was suddenly justification to repeat Gravity's Laugh, or Friction's ‘Woooo!’ throughout, as we see these forces reaping havoc in the athletes. It gave us the licence to push things as far as we could
Jon> To be honest I’m not sure we did know when to stop but the deadline helped! The process was about experimenting and trying out as many ideas as we could, then we needed to really curate things and zone in on the importance of each shot. That meant deciding throughout, is the in camera foley leading here or the percussive smashes? how do we make a cohesive through line for the audience to follow. We spent a huge amount of time on the mix, so we wanted it to feel overwhelming in parts exactly as these elemental forces do in reality, but it also needed to work and complement the voice over. Finding that balance was the real challenge.
Jon> When we started working, we all felt the film would need some sort of harmonic bed to work against that would help steer the emotion. We tried a few different executions on the more musical elements to support the rhythmic sound design. At one point we tried an almost thumping techno arrangement but what we realised was it killed some of the emotion in the voiceover. We ended up making the music feel more organic which helped to fit in against the physicality of the sound design. We used a mixture of electric guitars played by SIREN’s talented Josh Gibbard, feed-backing and pulsing along with synths like the Lyra 8 which has a very lively almost uncontrollable sound to it. The music really was there to set the tone, so the opening synths are off kilter and a bit warp-y. They make you feel on edge. Then as the film progresses, things slowly turn more determined and hopeful as the athletes overcome the forces to achieve their goals.
Jon> The voiceover is so important to this ad and I loved the script and its message. It asks the audience to reconsider their preconceived ideas of Paralympic greatness. The film captures the reactions of people as they watch Paralympic sport which, although well intentioned, are misguided and don’t appreciate Paralympians for what they are – world class athletes. It needed the voice to have gravitas, but not point fingers. We tested a few different people for the part but as soon as we heard Nabil Shaban's read, it was clear he was perfect for it. He has gravitas and a weight to his delivery that just nailed the message in the right way.
Jon> The tracklay itself was incredibly complicated, consisting of the usual VO, dialogue, full foley, spot FX, and atmospheres, plus we also had further groups of SFX that were part of the beat, more abstract sound design and full music stems. I built the music and SFX together, so mixing everything in one session was tricky! Grouping everything was key though to giving us the ability to focus on what was needed. It needed an organised approach and submixing each group was really important before balancing against the VO.
Rich> The challenge was twice the size of a normal project, simply because I was creating the entire rhythm bed as well as trying to tell unfolding stories simultaneously. And after I'd initially chosen the tempo of the piece, based off of the laughter, I was then tied into that pace, meaning if I needed to add a shot in I was trying to work out how the sound of the shot would fit at that point, and if it didn't, then I would have to add an entire other bar of sound, and find corresponding shots to keep everything in time and the story flowing.
Rich> The most fun part of the edit was that it was testing me in a very unfamiliar way, so the whole process felt very satisfying when you finally got to a point where everything seemed to align! And working with the whole team on it. There's something great about the compact way that things get approved internally at Channel 4 which allowed us all to fight for and keep hold of the piece of work we all believed in.
Rich> I think Steve did a great job in giving the forces their looks, and in doing so set the tone that then allows action to play out, keeping a lightness around a very strong message. My part was just trying to keep a balance of humour without losing sight of the struggle that each of these forces plays against the athletes. I think another key reason for keeping a lightness to the action is to then let the lines of the viewers land much stronger when we cut to them, since this is the first time in the piece that everything is played straight.
Jon> I think some of my favourite parts are the treatment of the dialogues and struggles in the film. I tried to use different delays and effects on these more incidental sounds so that they helped layer up and add more interest and variation to the beats.
Also, the bits I really love are moments where we use the fridge hum as a bass line and a huge reverberant snare hit is used as the starter gun. Getting the chance to use these things in a non-traditional way was a lot of fun.
Clever sound can make a project sing, so LBB spoke to the industry’s expert engineers and master mixers to find out how they use creativity to make waves.
With words from Creative Director Jack Hallett on his work on Adidas - Typical German and Senior Sound Designer James Utting’s on BBC Olympics - Welcome to the City of Love!
Follow the link HERE to read the article!
Written by Dan Hawcroft and brought to you by Factory Originals, 'Wasted Opportunities' is a captivating exploration of life on the road as we follow Dan Hawcroft’s career as Personal Assistant to Ian Fraser Kilmister - better known as the one and only Lemmy from Motörhead.
This hand-signed collectors edition is limited to 500 copies! Each features original artwork by over 30 international artists, photographs, touring memorabilia, and over 6 Hours of exclusive audio content - hosted by Billy Lunn of The Subways.
Pre-register now through the link here!
Do you know what’s great about working in a sound studio?
Speakers.
Oh yeah…
Big ass wonderful sounding play it loud bass rattling speakers.
And what’s even better, is when you install loads of new speakers across your studio facility, you have the perfect excuse to blast amazing music out of them so you get to understand the feel and sound of your new big ass wonderful sounding play it loud bass rattling speakers.
And that’s what this week’s Radio LBB playlist is all about…
Sonic nuggets of gold that sound great on our new studio systems here at Factory.
Since the start of the year, we’ve gone all in on upgrading the whole studio facility with a focus on creating the best spaces to create the best work for our team and our collaborators.
And I tell you what, the place looks amazing and sounds absolutely fantastic!
Pop by sometime, we can blast out this playlist together.
Listen to the playlist here!
Queer Ad Folk founders John Osborne and Oli Rimoldi speak with Deborah Whitfield, Head of Production & Executive Producer for their ongoing series.
Queer Ad Folk is a project with a mission to showcase LGBTQ+ talent thriving in adland so everyone can see people like themselves in the boardroom and beyond.
To read the article, follow the link here!
We are absolutely thrilled to have been awarded the British Arrows 2024 Joint Craft Company of the Year for Sound!
This recognition is testament to the dedication and talent of our entire Factory team over the past year, with outstanding work across the board from our Sound Designers, Producers, Transfer Engineers, Operations Team and Runners. Thank you to the whole team – we couldn’t do this without you.
A big thank you to our wonderful clients, friends and collaborators for entrusting us with their projects and giving us the opportunity to create and craft award-winning work together.
A special shoutout to our fellow winners, Trim and Time Based Arts – it's an honour to share to be part of such an esteemed trio.
And thank you to The British Arrows – what a night!
Anthony Moore has taken ownership of the Factory Group as creative chief / CEO signalling a new era for creativity, talent and tech advancements.
Anthony is supported in this new era with Lou Allen leading as group managing director, Jon Clarke as executive creative director of Factory, and Siân Rogers as company director & music supervisor at SIREN.
The team is committed to building for the future with a focus on ground-breaking projects for global brands, production companies and agencies that champions innovation across sound design, music, immersive experiences and sonic branding.
Tapping into the rich heritage of the Factory Studios and SIREN brands, Anthony is aligning the businesses to offer clients and collaborators a more holistic range of audio and music solutions that are tailored to meet the dynamic challenges and needs of the modern creative industries.
“The team and I have already started to shake things up as we start to build for the future with a focus on supporting our emerging new talent, exploring exciting business opportunities that push our brand into innovative new spaces whilst continuing to champion the importance of our craft in creating deeper connections for brands and storytellers alike." Said Anthony when asked about his vision for the future.
Anthony, as a founding partner of Factory Studios, is still deeply involved in hands-on sound design and creative direction across the business. With a plethora of industry awards and accolades to his name, Anthony is an expert in the craft of storytelling through sound and music. Career projects of note include an impressive body of work created for WK London and Honda, with films such as ‘Hands’, ‘Ignition’ and ‘The Other Side’. Anthony has also worked closely with Adam&EveDDB on every John Lewis Christmas campaign since the launch of the iconic ‘Long Wait’ back in 2011 through to 2022’s ‘The Beginner’.
In 2023, 4Creative & Channel 4 commissioned Anthony and his teams at Factory & SIREN to create a new sonic mnemonic and audio identity to herald the legendary channel’s fresh new look for life in the digital age. More recent work has seen Anthony designing the sound across new campaigns for Apple, EE, Coca Cola, JD Sports, Virgin Media, McDonalds and the BBC.
Joining Anthony in this new chapter are Lou Allen as group managing director, Jon Clarke as executive creative director for Factory Studios, and Siân Rogers as company director and music supervisor of SIREN. This formidable team is committed to driving forward the Group’s commitment to innovation and excellence in sound and music production.
Lou Allen, the group managing director, is at the heart of the culture and business ethos that plays a crucial role in maintaining creative talent. This culture, marked by inclusivity, flexibility, and teamwork, is why many of the team choose to grow their careers with Factory & SIREN long-term. Lou also champions a partnership with The Young Arrows, an industry leading hub for nurturing emerging talent. She also has a special focus on bringing more women into the audio industry. Beyond talent, the group is serious about sustainability, asking everyone from staff to suppliers to live up to high environmental standards.
As executive creative director of the award-winning sound design collective at Factory Studios, Jon Clarke has been instrumental in the Studios recent Film & TV successes as a supervising sound editor for the SXSW winning film ‘Raging Grace’ and the Rose d’Or winning Netflix special ‘A Whole Lifetime’ with Jamie Demetriou. Jon has overseen the recent facility tech and studio upgrades to ensure that Factory Studios stays at the forefront of the ever-evolving landscape of audio post-production.
“As industry leaders in creative sound design, it was important that we looked to upgrade our studios and technical offering with a view to the future, integrating the latest immersive formats into our workflows. Our studios have been given a complete overhaul with a view on designing an environment focussed on inspiring creativity for our sound designers and clients. Our award-winning sound design team now has six sound suites that can operate across all mixing formats from stereo to Dolby Atmos. Workflows have been optimised to enhance our creative solutions in session and the Studios have never felt better in terms of our overall offering and ability to immerse clients in our craft.”
Siân Rogers heads up the industry leading music supervision and composition company SIREN. Her growing team has diversified to include experiential and long form projects to compliment the company’s award-winning advertising work. She has built a highly regarded team that works closely with top brands, agencies and filmmakers.
Siân said, “At SIREN we put people at the core of all our work; we work hard as a team to champion new composers, support artists and pride ourselves on treating everyone; talent, clients and team with respect. We encourage close collaboration and transparency through the creative process.”
Anthony’s commitment to innovation and excellence across the Factory Group is testament to the hard work and commitment of his team to continually set the creative bar for sound and music. The refreshed outlook for the future set’s the collective up for continued development and success as creative leaders in the audio post sector.
Factory Studios are looking for an experienced Producer to join their team for Maternity Cover. They should have a minimum of 2-3 years in post-production, ideally with experience in audio post-production.
The ideal candidate will -
-Have experience in scheduling & budgeting for commercial and long-form work
-Be able to handle multiple projects simultaneously
-Have excellent communication skills and be client-facing
-Have a good working knowledge of the post-production process
Factory Studios is an award-winning sound design studio based in Central London. Our highly skilled team specialises in the art of sound design and has created some of the most revered and awarded work in recent years.
To apply, please send your CV to
Deborah Whitfield
Head of Production
RADIOCENTRE AUDIO AD OF THE YEAR
We are super proud to announce that our radio spot for ‘Quorn: Deli’ has been crowned Radiocentre’s Audio Ad of the Year!
Massive congratulations to Jack Hallett for sound designing this fab spot, and a big thank you to Adam&EveDDB for letting us bring Perry T. Pig to the airwaves!
PROMOTION ALERT
Kicking off the new year with a bang with 3 new promotions!
Harry Boyce promoted to Sound Designer! (Middle)
Andy Isaias promoted to Assistant Engineer! (Left)
Mike Johnson promoted to Head of Transfer! (Right)
We are super proud to announce that Factory and SIREN have had 5 entries in total reach the Young Arrows 2023 shortlist!!
Massive well done to Josh Campbell and Harry Boyce for reaching the Sound Design and Mix shortlist and to Ciara Wakley for reaching the shortlist for Post Producer Audio!
Across the Sound Design and Branding Categories, our work from BBC, Stonewall, Calm, Natwest, CBBC and Channel 4 has made it to the shortlist stage of the Kinsale Awards!!
We are super proud to announce that nine of our entries, including work from CALM, Natwest, Channel 4, and CBBC have all reached the finalist stage for Best Sound Design!!
Also shortlisted was Raging Grace and Femme for Best Sound Design in a Feature Film!
Huge well done to Matt Dearsley and Liam Preston for winning Best Parenting Podcast of 2023 for their very important podcast “Dad Still Standing”.
The podcast was created to help dads along their journey with grief and to discuss the difficulties we go through in bereavement, both in the immediate aftermath of baby loss and as time moves on.
Produced by Creative Director Ben Firth at Factory Originals.
Thanks to all who attended our Factory Film Showcase last Thursday!
Our sound team had the pleasure of working on some fantastic short films and features over the past couple of years and this night celebrates this work and all of the aspiring filmmakers and gifted sound designers involved.
We are seeking a dedicated and knowledgeable technical support assistant to join our team.
The ideal candidate should possess intermediate knowledge of studio infrastructure, AV & IT networking, and exhibit confidence and proficiency in working with avid pro tools. Additionally, the candidate should have a strong understanding of Apple Mac-based environments, excellent troubleshooting and problem-solving skills, and a commitment to maintaining good organisation and record-keeping practices. An energetic and enthusiastic demeanour, coupled with a willingness to assist others, is essential in this role. As a studio technician, you will become a trusted representative of the factory family, contributing to our mission of delivering an exceptional audio production and sound design service.
Please send your cv to – cv@factory.Uk.Com – deadline 29th September 2023
It was a true delight to be part of Uncommon Creative Studio’s latest immersive venture with EA SPORTS – a remarkable global event held in Amsterdam celebrating the launch of EA's inaugural product under the newly introduced EA SPORTS FC™ brand, EA SPORTS FC 24.
In partnership with INCA, Uncommon approached us with a fascinating sonic challenge: to create an immersive experience that emulates the sound of the iconic football tunnel walk.
This tunnel would become the entrance to the main event stage through which all guests would pass, and we set out to re-create that exhilarating feeling of walking through the belly of the beast, emerging to the thunderous roar of an impassioned crowd.
Sound Designer: Josh Campbell
Creative Director: Dan Beckwith
Executive Producer: Mike Hill
Creative Directors: Shaun Savage & Benny Everitt (Uncommon)
Executive Producer: Samantha Ostrouchow (INCA)
Production Manager: Rob Powell (INCA)
To me, Artificial Intelligence has always felt like something from the future; something only seen in sci-fi films and TV shows, but it's here and it's actually quite useful. On the surface it sounds like something that will take our jobs and eventually destroy humanity (like Skynet), but Chat GPT has reassured me that Sound Designers are safe, for now at least... I believe the creative, emotive and artistic decisions made by humans as individuals and within teams will always remain essential to the creation of bespoke sound design. I can see AI becoming embedded into our workflows, to help us become faster and better at what we do.
As someone immersed in the world of sound, this captivating convergence of AI and sound design has ignited a spark within me. AI has emerged as an innovative tool that harmonises technology and artistry in ways previously unimaginable.
We first saw a form of 'AI' crop up in the pro audio industry within Izotope's RX 6 plugin. Izotope utilises advanced machine learning to analyse, identify and repair problems within audio recordings. Izotope have continued to build and improve upon their machine learning algorithms up to their current iteration of RX 10. However, I'm sure we can all agree RX can only take us so far... Recently I found myself sitting in-front of a few near impossible dialogue clean-ups. One project had been edited with a TV broadcast feed that was covered in music. And another had car interior dialogue recorded from the exterior - the mic feed supplied to me was unusable. ADR was out of the question and both projects had a super tight turnaround, so I knew I had to think of some creative solutions for these very tricky problems.
I was aware that Peter Jackson had built a bespoke AI algorithm to isolate instruments and voice from a single mono recording for The Beatle’s 'Get Back' TV series, so I searched Google to see if something similar was available for me to use on my troubled broadcast dialogue. This is where I came across lalal.ai - an AI programme that separates vocals and instrumentation. The algorithm did a great job, the dialogue was clear and 98% free of music. With one small area where I could hear the algorithm had gotten a bit confused and some music had remained. Luckily with some creative mixing I was able to mask it with the newly supplied music and my sound design.
Inevitably my YouTube algorithm filled my phone with AI videos! One that really caught my attention was about Adobe's Speech Enhancement AI tool. Adobe state that their AI enhancement '...makes voice recordings sound as if they were recorded in a professional studio.' As soon as I got to the studio the next day I tried it out on my un-usable car dialogue. Safe to say I was blown away with the results, it turned my virtually unusable dialogue into something fully workable.
Another instance of how I’ve utilised AI recently was working on a short film that required the sound of a TV in the background as ambience, and some scenes came with a very specific brief from the director about what we should be hearing from the TV. Using ChatGPT I very quickly created bespoke scripts to record matching the directors brief. Having these scripts for the 'actors' to read from was a huge help to them, it meant they could focus on the performance instead of scrambling to improvise. Using ChatGPT in this way saved me a lot of time and with the wealth of generative music AI programmes available now as well, I can see creating bespoke radio & TV ambience fill becoming a very quick and easy process.
Looking forward I can see a myriad of ways in which AI could help sound designers in the future. Two areas that really excite me are Generative Sound Synthesis and Sound Recommendation. With Generative Sound Synthesis I believe we will be able to prompt an AI programme that will then generate unique and innovative sound effects and textures. With Sound Recommendation an AI programme will be able to recommend sound effects for a scene in a piece of film based on prompts from the sound designer, or purely by analysing what is seen in the film. This could massively improve time spent hunting through sound libraries and may even throw up some interesting left field ideas. Importantly, it’s the human interaction in these processes that will generate the best results - we’ve been creating and designing sound for decades, honing our craft, so that human experience will remain crucial.
Another exciting area of AI development in sound design is the use of AI generated [celebrity] voice. Some interesting examples of this are Frank Sinatra singing Lil Wayne's 'Get Low' and a posthumous voice-over of Anthony Bourdain in the film 'Roadrunner' which chronicles the late chef's life. James Earl Jones' has also signed over the rights to his archival voice work, leading to the recreation of his voice as Darth Vader in the latest Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+. Does this mean we will see a future of immortalised celebrities? Will future commercials be filled with the voices of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brad Pitt and Britney Spears?
As you can see, AI has been helping me to deliver work using methods that just five years ago weren’t possible. I’ve given some examples of how I'm using AI in my workflows as a sound designer, but there are also other areas I'm using AI to assist me. Can you tell if I've used AI to help me write this article?
Lou Allen began her career in audio post production over 20 years ago and has been part of the Factory Family for 16 of those years. She joined Factory in 2007 where she quickly established a production department, leading her to become the head of production.
Among Lou’s list of award-winning projects are the iconic Honda’s ‘Paper’, John Lewis’ ‘The Long Wait’ Christmas campaign and Aoife McArdle’s feature film, ‘Kissing Candice’. Today, in her role as managing director, she gets to not only be proud of the incredible work she’s produced over the years, but also of the unique team she has helped nurture.
Lou looks forward to the future filled with expectations, new tech and the Factory Family’s expansion, as well as its incredible new immersive studio. Growing the Family both professionally and personally, she is completely committed to diversifying projects, keeping up with new and better developments and placing her foot firmly on the pedal.
LBB’s Zoe Antonov spoke to Lou about assembling the production department when she joined Factory, and going from not having a mobile phone in the first days of her career to working with AI today.
Lou> It was definitely a coincidence. I didn’t even know the industry existed.
When I began my career back in 1993, I didn’t have a mobile phone, there was no easy access to the internet and of course no social media. After I moved to London in 1993, I started as a runner at an ad agency called Delaney Fletcher Slaymaker Delaney (DFSD) and absolutely fell in love with London life.
Lou> I had been at DFSD for around five years, and I was ready for something else. I saw an ad for a receptionist at an audio post production company called Grand Central (GC) and I was intrigued as to what audio post production was. I had no idea you could actually have a career in sound and music.
I joined GC in 1998 and worked my way up through bookings (now known as audio production), learning my skills from a very talented team. I was very lucky as I worked with a fantastic group of people who took the time to properly explain the process of sound design and music to me - I was hooked! I’ve always loved how sound and music can evoke an emotion or memory, so I immersed myself in it.
Lou> Twenty years ago, media spend was mainly based on TV & Radio campaigns and that was it really. We now have a vast array of media deliverables which means a vast array of audio specs. Things like VOD, cinema (Dolby 5.1, 7.1 and Atmos) and a multitude of social media channel assets are becoming the norm. We saw an increase in experiential installations (art/theatre/live events) before the pandemic and we’ve seen the rapid return of these already. At Factory, we now have a dedicated immersive audio department - that was unimaginable twenty years ago!
Overall, I feel audio post production has undergone a remarkable transformation. The shift from analogue to digital workflows, along with huge technological advancements, has opened things up to exciting opportunities whilst also expanding the creative possibilities that we can now achieve.
All of this has certainly kept me on my toes and keeps me excited and passionate about what I do.
Lou> You learn so much as a runner, not just about the company or the industry, but learning about yourself. It’s an important part of the career process and shouldn’t be taken for granted. Immerse yourself in it, be interested and keen, ask lots of questions and you’ll shine through. Also, it’s okay to make mistakes. Learn from them and move on. It makes me so sad to see the younger generation blinded by perfection, particularly from social media, it must be so stressful. Nobody is perfect… it’s okay to be different, it’s okay to have different opinions and it’s OK if you trip up once in a while!
Lou> Yes indeed, I’ve just celebrated my 16th anniversary! I joined Factory in 2007, where I assembled the audio production department. Anthony (founding partner) and I were very focused on how we wanted our production department to be completely immersed with the engineers and clients in every project. We wanted to shake the process up and make it more collaborative. From here, I was promoted to head of production in 2013 and began to further build our blossoming team.
I absolutely love our culture in the Factory Family, to nurture and inspire. It makes me so proud to see the team achieve their goals professionally and personally, and I love that we’re able to give the team the space to do that. Not only is our team exceptionally talented but they’re all lovely people that genuinely care about our clients, our work and each other.
Lou> I think the biggest challenges are also the best parts and that’s the people - our team.
We have a team of 30 and it’s important that I’m supportive of everyone’s career progression and their personal needs. Ensuring everyone is on the right path and feels supported can feel like spinning plates at times. However, when a member of the team moves closer to achieving their goals and you can see what they’ve accomplished, it’s very rewarding.
Lou> I love being in the studio every day, I like to be around our team and connected to our clients. I’ve always loved the buzz of the studio, that has never changed.
My day is very varied, it really can depend on what’s going on and who needs me. I usually start the day catching up with everyone. I champion well-being at the Factory Family, and I like to ensure everyone in the team is feeling good, both professionally and personally.
My role as MD is very management based, that’s why I love it. Overseeing and seeking out new opportunities is very exciting and inspiring to me.
Lou> Oh, that’s a difficult question! My favourite ads were probably Honda’s ‘Hands’ and Honda’s ‘Paper’ as they required some very specific recordings of Honda products which was quite a challenge from an audio production perspective.
Aside from ads, I really enjoyed working on ‘Kissing Candice’, Aoife McCardle’s debut feature film; I loved working with the team at Somesuch and the wider post-production team. It was a hugely collaborative project. I may be biased, but the haunting music score by Jon Clarke and the immersive sound design by Anthony Moore makes for a truly outstanding piece of work.
Lou> I would say the big tech developments right now revolve around two areas, immersive audio formats and AI. It's important for us to stay ahead of the curve and embrace new tech, which is why we recently opened our new immersive department which is centred around audio design, development and integration across many varied platforms.
We're seeing Dolby Atmos becoming more of a standard deliverable across advertising, film and TV, not to mention other exciting spatial formats which seem to be popping up all the time. The ability to integrate our sound design successfully in these developing formats has become invaluable for our clients as they constantly demand the highest standards regardless of the challenges.
AI is here - it's scary but also fascinating. Again, new tools are coming through, helping to improve workflows and changing what’s possible to achieve. It’s exciting!
Lou> The future for the Factory Family is exciting. We have such a talented team and they’re all eager to learn their craft and seek out new opportunities.
We’ve just completed a huge sonic rebrand for Channel 4 in collaboration with 4Creative.
The Factory Family teams across Factory and SIREN combined to create a new sound and sonic feel for this iconic brand. Working across many touch points and led by a signature brand mnemonic, the team worked hard to encapsulate the sound of Channel 4 as it moves forward into the digital age. What’s great to see is how much focus the brand has put into creating a cohesive sonic identity, it’s so important these days – good sound stays with you!
And then there’s our immersive department. There is so much new tech available and so many platforms for us to expose our expertise in audio, the possibilities are endless.
Lou> Fitness and nature. Both energise me and give me time to think, reflect and then move on.
Walking my dog, Winnie, is the best!
Also, I’m a huge house music fan. My partner and I will often head out for a dance on a Saturday night.
Super proud to announce that Michael Haines has been promoted to Sound Designer!! ✨
Michael started his career at Factory as a runner and worked his way up the ranks. It’s been a pleasure to watch his journey and we’re very excited to see what he does next! ❤️
Our Founding Partner, Anthony Moore, sat down with David Reviews to talk about his involvement in crafting the sound for twelve years of iconic Christmas campaigns for John Lewis & Partners.
This excellent podcast takes us on a sonic journey which details the evolution of one of the biggest and most successful advertising phenomena of recent times.
Have a listen to the full podcast through the link here
We are SUPER proud to announce that Raging Grace Written and Directed By Paris Zarcilla and Produced by Chi Thai has WON the Narrative Feature Competition at SXSW!!
Huge congratulations to everyone that put such hard work into the making of the film, including our very own Creative Director Jon Clarke, the Supervising Sound Designer & Composer!
“Raging Grace's heady blend of horror, history, and midnight humor announces the arrival of an exciting new filmmaking talent in writer-director Paris Zarcilla. The story of a Filipina house cleaner and her young daughter confronting Britain's racial and class divides, Raging Grace is both frank and elusive, a film that subverts expectations on its way to a stirring conclusion. In cleverly employing genre tropes to explore vast socio-political matters, Zarcilla has crafted a resonant, urgent work about labor, legacy, and diaspora.”
Factory Studios are looking for an experienced mid-level Producer to join their team. They should have a minimum of 2-3 years in post-production including experience in audio post-production.
The ideal candidate will -
-Have experience in scheduling & budgeting for commercial and longform work
-Be able to handle multiple projects simultaneously
-Have excellent communication skills and be client facing
-Have a good working knowledge of the post-production process
Whilst the role will initially be based in commercials, some experience in longform work would be desirable.
Factory Studios is an award-winning sound design studio based in Central London. Our highly skilled team specialises in the art of sound design and has created some of the most revered and awarded work in recent years.
To apply, please send your CV to
Deborah Whitfield
Head of Production
RAGING GRACE
We are SUPER proud to announce that our latest Feature Film will have its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival!!
Written and Directed by Paris Zarcilla and Produced by Chi Thai, Raging Grace will be one of 8 films in the Narrative Feature Competition and we can’t wait for the world to see it.
HUGE congratulations to everyone involved in the making of the film!
Original Score & Supervising Sound Designer - Jon Clarke
Sound Design & Dialogue Editor - Michael Haines
SFX Editor - Chad Orororo
Audio Producer - Beth Massey
Music Supervision - Sian Rogers @ SIREN
Music Researchers - Joshua Gibbard & Chris Christoforou
Factory, London’s award-winning sound design and audio studio, is proud to announce some exciting promotions across its sound design team.
Phil Bolland has been promoted to head engineer and will be the focal point for Factory’s talented team of sound designers. Phil’s award-winning work includes Honda ‘Paper’, Riot Games ‘Valorant’ and Audi ‘Escape’. His work has been recognised globally by the likes of Creative Circle, Eurobest, Clio's, Ciclope, Kinsale and MAS; not to mention big wins at the Cannes Lions, British Arrows, D&AD and the LIA's.
Phil said, “I’m really excited to take on the role of head engineer at Factory Studios. To be able to help shape the overall output of the outstanding work we create as well as focus on the development and growth of our incredible upcoming talent is a huge honour that I really look forward to.”
The Factory team also sees Jack Hallett and Mark Hills being promoted to the role of senior sound designer. Jack has been with Factory for eight years and combines his musical background with his love for creative sound design. His recent work includes the much-lauded campaign for FIFA 21 x Midnight Ramadan League, the John Lewis Christmas campaigns and PUBG ‘Move the chains’
Jack said, “It is an honour and privilege to get promoted to senior sound designer at a place like Factory. The commitment to craft and amazing clients we get to work with are some of the best. I‘m looking forward to the role and extra responsibility, along with helping younger members of staff. I can't wait to get stuck into more amazing work!”
Mark’s unique and detailed sound design and mix techniques have already shown him to be one of the brightest young talents in audio post. Fast becoming the ‘go-to guy’ for many directors and creative agencies, his craft for impactful storytelling through sound is showcased in campaigns such as Leonard Cheshire ‘Together Unstoppable’, PlayStation ‘Play Has No Limits’ and the multi award-winning film for BT Hope Utd.
Mark said, “It's a hugely significant moment in my career to be made senior sound designer at Factory. In an extremely competitive industry and with so much incredible work being made, I feel extremely grateful to be moving into this new role.
In the five years since I joined, I've been fortunate enough to learn from the best in the industry. I look forward to not only challenging myself with new opportunities and projects, but also passing down my knowledge and guidance to the next wave of talented engineers moving up the ranks at Factory.”
Factory has also expanded its offering for immersive sound design projects, with Harry Boyce ending his transfer ‘watch’ to take on the role of assistant engineer and audio developer. Harry has already hit the ground running by working on a new AR immersive experience app ‘House of the Dragon: DracARys’ - which launches alongside the highly anticipated Game of Thrones prequel of the same name.
Harry said, “I’ve experienced stunning work being created on a daily basis at Factory. I’ve been inspired to work tirelessly to learn as much as possible and get myself to a level where I can get involved creatively. Having arrived at that point I feel both excited and extremely proud.
I find the world of immersive and real-time audio very exciting. From its application in VR & AR to games, exhibitions and beyond - I believe it will be a crucial part of the future of audio and I'm thrilled to be part of Factory’s progression in this arena as an audio developer.”
With a firm eye on the future and a commitment to developing best in class sound design talent, Factory’s founding partner and chief creative officer, Anthony Moore states, “Factory has always been about finding new talent and nurturing it. We want to inspire our team to push boundaries in a culture of opportunity and excellence and these promotions do just that. Phil, Jack, Mark and Harry are all hugely talented in their own right and constantly produce work that excites and inspires me. To quote the wise words of Timbuk 3, “The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades.” Hell yeah!”
The team from Neverland joined us yesterday for our second crafternoon!!
We chatted through the different parts of the Factory Family and explained in more detail what we do with our department heads, then finished up on the roof with some margaritas and some pizza!
Factory and SIREN have teamed up with The Avenues to provide Sound Production workshops aimed at inspiring and teaching young people about sound & music in post production. The interactive workshops show how sound is created for film, TV and commercials, how sound and music can change the emotion of piece. The children work alongside the Factory and SIREN teams to learn about sound and music through exploration with foley props, music demos and sound design clips.
In addition to this, the children also have the opportunity to record, edit and mix their own radio ad. The group is then invited into the studios to review and listen to their work.
The Avenues recently hosted their Annual Fundraising Auction Dinner attended by Factory and SIREN. The Auction raised £43,000 for vital services needed across the youth project.
Our partnership is an on-going commitment from Factory and SIREN, and we aim to open the prospects of a career in music and sound for them.
About The Avenues
For 42 years, The Avenues Youth. Project has provided a safe space for young people aged 8 to 18 to play, socialise, develop skills and receive advice and motivation.
In an area of North Westminster with plenty of social challenges, The Avenues is seen as a beacon organisation, hugely valued by the community and widely respected in the youth sector.
To donate to The Avenues please follow this link https://localgiving.org/charity/avenues/
We are VERY excited to share that we’ve worked on an immersive exhibition curated by Barbican London! “The exhibition presents 21st-century game design as a unique form of contemporary art with the celebrated game designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi as guest-curator”
Check out the Walking Tour through the link in our bio!
We are SUPER proud to announce that we’ve won GOLD in Sound Design at the Ciclope Festival for our work on Seeing Red from Hey Girls! A massive congrats to Anthony Moore and Mark Hills for all their hard work on a very important advert.
We are beyond proud of our Factory Family team for securing not one, but FOUR awards at the Kinsale Shark Awards!
C4 Paralympics - Super. Human. - GOLD
Green & Blacks - Wildly. Deliciously. Organic. - SILVER
BT - Hope United - SILVER
Riot Games - Valorant - BRONZE
Factory, London’s leading sound design and recording studio, is proud to announce the appointment of Lou Allen to Managing Director of the Factory Family.
Lou has over 20 years experience in audio post-production, with 14 of those years spent at Factory where she spearheaded the sound studio’s multi-award winning production team. The new role will see Lou working across the Factory Family group, which incorporates the sound, music and content creation expertise of Factory, SIREN and the newly launched Factory Originals.
“I’m really proud to head up the super talented team that is the Factory Family,” said Lou. “Our new structure is built for the future and our offering as a group has never been stronger. Creative sound design, inspiring music and great storytelling have always been at the core of everything that we do across Factory and SIREN. The inception of Factory Originals now allows us to collaborate further and create our own content with clients and brands across a multitude of mediums. By drawing on our craft and audio expertise, we can now offer clients creative solutions and content that truly fits their needs.”
Lou continues: “Audio content is such a vibrant area of creativity right now and as an award winning collective of sound and music experts, we can offer our clients a truly collaborative experience. This is such an exciting offering for our clients as it allows them to really immerse themselves in the process under the guidance of our experienced and award winning team.”
Lou has been an instrumental figure in Factory’s success and growth of recent times and she is constantly on the look out for new talents to bring into the business. She continues, “We have a very unique culture at Factory and it’s important that we nurture and inspire our team to push creative boundaries. On top of this, we always look out for each other; we’ve got each other’s back. Our team consists of such diverse audio and musical backgrounds and this is something that we actively encourage. This kind of environment is great as it creates a space for some really interesting ideas which can often lead to ground-breaking work.”
The COVID pandemic has also influenced how Lou is viewing the future of audio post-production. She continues, “The last 18 months have been so tough for everyone and with an ever-changing working landscape, we’ve had to remain agile, open-minded and flexible. I’m still overwhelmed at the success and efficiency of our team who have adapted seamlessly to working between the studios in Margaret Street and their setups at home. COVID has seen us change some of our workflows on a daily, sometimes hourly basis, to ensure the needs of our clients are met. Alongside all of this, we are still outputting work of the highest quality, whilst ensuring the whole team are kept safe and healthy. At times this has been incredibly challenging, but seeing the team pull together so brilliantly has been immensely rewarding.”
With plans afoot for a busy run up to Christmas, Lou is already excited at the prospect of her new role and what 2022 will bring, “As Managing Director, I will continue to bring my passion and experience to the table by nurturing the team and continuing to deliver the exceptional creative work of the Factory Family. I’m also very happy to take Winnie, my whippet pup, into the studios for some ‘dog therapy’ for staff and clients; he’s become quite popular with certain celebrity voice-overs. He’ll probably be doing his own podcast next!”
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
lou@factory.uk.com
We are extremely happy to announce that we have picked up a Gold AND a Silver award in the music and sound category from The One Club
Green and Blacks “Wildly. Deliciously. Organic” GOLD directed by Kim Gehrig and Volkswagen “See The Unseen” SILVER directed by Niclas Larrson.
A massive congratulations to the teams involved at Factory and thank you to everyone at VCCP and adam&eveDBB that made these two fantastic spots possible.
We are extremely proud to announce that our Factory Original's podcast "And Along Came Breast Cancer” has launched! This new podcast series created by Future Dreams Breast Cancer Charity is for anyone whose lives have been touched by the disease.
Hosted by the award-winning journalist Victoria Derbyshire - herself a breast cancer survivor - each episode discusses an aspect of the cancer journey, from how to spot the first signs, to dealing with the aftermath of treatment and everything in between. The discussions are honest but also practical. It is a podcast that will hold your hand as you and your loved ones go through one of the toughest times of your life and will make you realise that you are not alone.
The first three episodes are available on Monday 21st June on all major streaming platform and then episodes every week after that.
We are super proud to announce that BBC Sounds has been awarded the Wood Pencil for Use of Music, Sound Design and Audio Composition!!
A massive congratulations to the team at SIREN, Anthony Moore and James Utting for their fantastic work!
We are very proud to announce that our Factory Originals content producers Deborah Whitfield and Ben Firth will be joining the BPA Jury for 2021!
The team at Factory are super excited to see our Producers using their expertise in judging this years British Podcast Awards. The shortlisted Nominees will be announced in May!
Fantastic news on a sunny Wedneasday - we are super proud to announce that we won bronze for Volkswagon - See the Unseen (Sound Design and Mix - Anthony Moore and James Utting) and Medecins Du Monde (Sound Design & Mix - Mark Hills)
A massive thank you to Dreamers, Adam&eveDBB and New Land for thinking of us to help bring these ads to life.
We are so proud.
London based Factory Studios have launched their Virtual Short Film Showcase 2020/2021 platform today.
Over the past 12 months (and various stages of lockdown) their sound team have been actively involved with several short film projects; designing beautiful sound to accompany powerful stories and imagery.
This fresh take on their ever popular, annual short film showcase evening will share some of the most exciting projects that have been created in collaboration with Factory sound designers during the COVID pandemic.
Available to view and share from 15th-29th of April
We are so proud to announce that Mark Hills won Silver at the British Arrows
Awards for his incredible Sound Design work on ‘We Don’t Care’ for Médecins du Monde France
The online awards last night took us on a journey through craft and talent.
It was a pleasure to see Nexus’ work for Fender, ‘Bringing us Closer’ for the BBC and ‘Where Were You?’, a Love Letter to Europe for The Face Magazine, all win Gold in their respective fields and we feel very lucky to have been able to work with them.
Factory Originals - ICONIC Launch
We are very excited to announce the launch of Factory Originals latest creation - ICONIC with Jack Remmington “a weekly dose of happiness for the girls, gays and theys”
Download & Listen now on all podcast services.
We are extremely proud to announce that our very own Lou Allen will be joining The One Show's Jury.
The team at Factory are very excited to see our Head of Production using her expertise in judging the craft of music and sound.
Factory Studios are looking for an experienced Transfer Engineer to join our award-winning team.
Please submit your CV and application to: cv@factory.uk.com
Closing – 31st March 2021
Factory Originals are proud to announce securing a brand partnership for Season 2 of their homegrown pre and postnatal parenting podcast "Notes From The Mother Box" with the fabulous 'Sophie La Girafe' - who is this year celebrating her 60th Birthday! Season Two is available to stream and download now on all major streaming platforms including Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more...
Our Founding Partner & Executive Creative Director Anthony Moore discusses careers, inspirations and hopes for the future with Stink rising director Dylan Holmes Williams for Shots Creative Correspondence.
Check out the full article on the Shots website here.
Factory, London's leading sound design and recording studio, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dan Beckwith and Jon Clarke as Creative Directors. With over 25 years experience at Factory and a host of global awards under their respective belts, Beckwith and Clarke will be focussed on continuing the London studio’s world leading reputation for creative sound design and immersive story telling.
Reporting in to Factory’s Executive Creative Director, Anthony Moore, the duo will work closely with clients and collaborators to bring the highest levels of audio craft to projects. The role will also see Beckwith and Clarke charged with nurturing creative talent at Factory as the studio looks to build for the future and enhance it’s offering for 2021.
“We are proud to bring our expertise and experience to help lead the team at Factory in what is proving to be an exciting time in the company’s evolution,” said Beckwith. “As Creative Directors, our goal is to provide clients with the best possible talent to bring their sound design brief alive. Coupled with this, we want to ensure that we nurture the unbelievable talent that we have at Factory. We want to celebrate our team ethos and create a space for the ‘new to shine’ and for clients to embrace exciting ways of working that will add further quality and craft to the creative experience at Factory.”
Clarke continues, “Long standing, trusted relationships with all of our clients will allow Dan and I to continue to offer our personal expertise and insight across projects. We know what makes great award winning work and we are committed to making every project sound exceptional. It’s what Factory is all about and we want to continue that legacy. Audio and sound design are intrinsic to every forward thinking brand right now, and Dan and I are excited to be leading the charge to offer solutions and opportunities to clients like never before.”
Beckwith and Clarke both started at Factory over 12 years ago and in that time, they have worked with some of the world’s leading ad agencies, brands, directors and production companies. Their work has been recognised by the likes of BAFTA, MAS, Ciclope, Kinsale, Clios and The British Arrows.
“Dan and Jon are pure gold,” said Anthony Moore, Executive Creative Director at Factory. “They are Factory through and through and their passion for crafting exciting and ground breaking sound design is a joy for any client to experience. With the creation of Factory Originals and our intention to create audio content that immerses the listener within a world of wonderful stories and fantastical soundscapes, Jon and Dan give us the expertise, knowledge and trust to really push into 2021 with a bang. They are the Ryu and Ken of audio - Street Fighters supreme - Hadouken! ”
For more information, please contact lou@factory.uk.com
We had an absolutely amazing night at the Shots Awards 2019 which saw us crowned the Audio Company of the Year! Such an honour - thank you to Shots and their esteemed jury.
Alongside this fantastic accolade, we also scooped the GOLD award for Best Sound Design with Jon Clarke's outstanding work on Alzheimers Research UK 'First Breath’.
John Lewis & Partners ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, picked up the Silver Award with Anthony Moore and Mark Hills providing the sound design and mix.
And to complete the clean sweep of Shots Sound Design Awards, BRONZE was awarded to Mark Hills for his stellar work on Leonard Cheshire ‘Together Unstoppable’.
Big thanks to all of our wonderful clients and friends. Not to mention the incredible team here at Factory. We are incredibly proud.
Our work for John Lewis & Partners ‘The Boy and the Piano’ and Barnardo’s ‘Hyena’s’ have scooped Gold at this years Ciclope Awards 2019
Alongside this, our work for Leonard Cheshire ‘Together Unstoppable’ was awarded Silver in the Sound Design category. The event was held in Berlin and features the best of Advertising craft and production worldwide.
Phil Bolland who created the sound design and mix for Barnardo’s ‘Hyena’s’ said:
‘The brief was to make the sound of the Hyena’s as sinister and scary as possible in order to symbolise the anxiety felt by bullied children. Sam Brown and the team at FCB Inferno wrote a compelling script, and I’m very proud to have had the opportunity to craft the sound for this hard hitting campaign’
The award for Adapted Music on ‘The Boy and the Piano’ is the latest in a long line of awards for this campaign. The ad has previously won accolades from Cannes Lion, D&AD, Creative Circle, Kinsale Shark ,London International Awards, the sound was crafted by Anthony Moore.
Leonard Cheshire ‘Together Unstoppable’ was awarded Silver for Sound Design. The work was Directed by Matilda Finn at Stink Films and the sound design and mix was crafted by Mark Hills.
We’ve had a bumper of award wins this week in the studio!
Our work for BBC Creative ‘Netball – World Cup’ has won Gold at the Promax Awards for Best Radio. Engineer Mark Hills who crafted the sound says:
‘I am thrilled to have worked with the team at BBC Creative on this project, and for putting together a brief that allowed so much scope with the sound design’
In addition to that, we have won 3 awards at the London International Awards! We collected a Silver for Experiential Use of Music and Sound for Fanta ‘Twisted Carnival’ and two Bronze awards under Music Adaption ‘The Boy and the Piano’(John Lewis & Partners) and Sound Editing – Bohemian Rhapsody (John Lewis & Partners)
Big congrats to Anthony Moore, Mark Hills and all involved!
Thank you Clio's we are delighted with our wins for John Lewis The Boy and the Piano and Leonard Cheshire Together Unstoppable.
The John Lewis film directed by Seb Edwards of Academy was the 2018 stand out Christmas campaign.
Anthony Moore was awarded a Gold for use of Existing Music and a Bronze for Sound Design.
We are also thrilled for Mark Hills. He picked up a Bronze for his Sound Design on the powerful film 'Together Unstoppable' for the incredible mental health charity Leonard Cheshire.
We are honoured and very proud. Thank you.
We are incredibly proud to announce that our very own Founding Partner & Managing Director Lisette Nice has been invited to join the Board of Directors on the British Arrows.
Lisette says "I am thrilled and honoured to be joining the board of the British Arrows. I can't wait to work with this amazing group of people. The British Arrows are the most prestigious awards in the UK and I am delighted to be involved in shaping its future"
Congratulations Lisette and very well deserved.
We've only gone and picked up two prestigious Music And Sound Awards for our work on the 2018 John Lewis Christmas film, ‘The Boy and The Piano’. The MAS Awards jury recognised the stellar sound work of our own Anthony Moore to award the project Best Audio Mix in a Commercial as well as Best Re - Record or Adaptation in Broadcast Advertising.
This double MAS Award win for ‘The Boy and the Piano follows on from recent Sound Design and Use of Music wins for the film at this years Creative Circle and Cannes Lions.
Anthony says, “
‘To win two MAS Awards for ‘The Boy and the Piano’ is truly mind blowing! The MAS jury know their sound - it’s your industry peers. To be awarded twice by them is such an honour. A lot of love went into crafting the sound for ‘The Boy and The Piano’ and it’s great to see it recognised by MAS.’
Thanks to everyone involved.
Factory's very own superwoman, Lou Allen, has made her way onto the prestigious Pitch Magazine Top 100 Superwomen List 2019. This is an intiiative set up to celebrate superwomen working behind the scenes in the creative industry and is even more special as they are nominated by their indusrtry peers. Totally well deserved. Take a look here.
Factory's Award Winning Sound Designer Phil Bolland has been talking to The Pitch Magazine regarding how his love of music, DJiing and even recording an album launched him into being one of the most respected Sound Designers in London.
Our Founding Partner & Creative Director, Anthony Moore, talks sound design, music and life with Brittaney Kiefer.
Have a read of the article in this month’s Campaign here
Our very own Jon Clarke has created an exclusive playlist for Radio LBB which showcases his favourite favourite neo-classical artists and film composers who blur the lines between music and sound.
Have a listen here
........for Best Sound Design and One Silver Award for Best Use of Music.
We had double wins for John Lewis 'The Boy & The Piano', which saw our own Anthony Moore pick up a Gold for Sound Design and a Silver for Use of Music. This epic Christmas film saw Ant work closely with the original 16 track tape masters of Elton John’s ‘Your Song’ to create a stunning mix that weaved it’s way back in time through Elton’s amazing career. The spot allowed us to continue our outstanding relationship with director Seb Edwards at Academy. This is now the eighth consecutive time Ant has been involved in the sound design for the highly acclaimed John Lewis Christmas campaigns for Adam&EveDDB, a history that dates right back to 2011’s debut with ‘The Long Wait’.
We were also awarded a second Sound Design Gold for our work on John Lewis ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. This stunning tribute to the Queen classic saw Ant and Mark Hills create a soundscape that allowed all the quirks and charm of this unique school performance to hit home on every level. Working with stems for the music track, the pair set about making the performance come alive with a special does of home-made, yet utterly charming comedic sound design. The film was directed by our long time friend Dougal Wilson at Blink Productions for Adam&EveDDB.
Massive thanks to the entire team - what an achievement.
We are extremely proud to announce that Anthony Moore, our Founding Partner & Creative Director, has been honoured with the highly revered British Arrows Fellowship Award. This prestigious award is voted for by the British Arrows Board and acknowledges Anthony's "outstanding contribution to the production of commercials" and his commitment to the craft of sound design. The award was announced to an unsuspecting Anthony at this year's British Arrows ceremony.
James Rouse, director at Outsider and long-time friend of Factory, presented the award to Anthony with a wonderful speech that opened with,
"There are quite a few things that make Ant an industry legend so worthy of this prestigious award."
"Ant’s body of work is quite extraordinary. In this year’s awards alone, out of twelve nominations in the coveted Sound Design category, Ant’s name appears in four of them, with Factory in two others. That’s quite something"
"Ant, with his partner Lisette, has created a caring, family environment at Factory, where runners and juniors are mentored to become award-winning sound designers (four of which are also nominated tonight), technicians or producers"
James closed his speech by saying,
"He’s a humble, kind and charming man.
When lesser mortals are losing their shit, when toys are being thrown, Ant is always there to calmly and charmingly take control."
"When someone was describing Ant to me recently, they said “He’s always quick to let others take the stage ahead of him.” Well, Ant, I’d like to see you try that tonight"
The British Arrows audience were then treated to a congratulatory video message from another big Factory friend, Dougal Wilson, the multi-award winning director from Blink. Anthony and Dougal have worked closely together for nearly 20 years, and in that time they have been responsible for creating some of the most iconic commercials of recent times. Dougal's video was suitably filmed on location at The Timberline Lodge in Oregon, aka the hotel from The Shining!
The emotional presentation concluded with a video compilation of Anthony's sound design reel that showcased a stunning catalogue of work that has been lovingly crafted over the past 22 years. What's more amazing, is that Anthony is the youngest ever recipient of the British Arrows Fellowship Award!
All of us at here at Factory are absolutely delighted to see Anthony win this wonderful accolade. It's a proud moment in the history of Factory.
To say we had an incredible night at this years British Arrows would be an understatement!
Our Founding Partner and Creative Director, Anthony Moore, received the prestigious British Arrows Fellowship Award for his 'outstanding contribution to commercial production' and craft. Voted for by The British Arrows Board, this accolade saw Anthony become the youngest ever recipient of the Fellowship.
To top off the night, Anthony then picked up a Gold Award for Sound Design with SIREN composer Jon Clarke for their stunning work on the Red Cross film 'Hope'.
This hard hitting film was created by Sra Rushmore and directed by long time Factory friend James Rouse for Blur Productions.
Congratulations and thanks to all involved!
and a hat-trick of BAFTA winning work!
We are absolutely delighted to see that the BBC Winter Olympics 2018 campaign picked up the BAFTA for Titles and Graphic Identity at this year's awards show! 'The Fearless Are Here' was directed by our great friends and long time collaborators Smith & Foulkes for Nexus Studios. Working with Mark Roalfe at Y&R London, we had the honour of creating the sound design and mix for this epic film. We are extremely proud to have now been involved in all three BAFTA winning Winter Olympics projects for the BBC and Y&R London. These iconic films have now been awarded by BAFTA in 2010, 2014 and now 2018.
An amazing achievement, well done to all involved!
Join us for our annual Short Film Showcase featuring fantastic films from some of the talented people we have had the pleasure of working with over the last year.
Please join us at Dolby, Soho Square (4-6 Soho Square, W1D 3PZ) on Wednesday 20th March for the screening at 7pm.
Entry to the increasingly popular show is on a first come first served basis so we do recommend that you RSVP in advance by contacting rsvp@factory.uk.com
We look forward to seeing you on the night!
New work from us...
'DIVERSish’, directed by James Rouse at Outsider, takes a satirical look at inclusion and diversity in the workplace and how often disability can be overlooked.
The 'mock-umentary' style films created by AMV BBDO coincides with The Valuable 500 launch, an initiative created to challenge 500 global businesses to make disability a key issue on their board agendas in 2019.
The films were launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos to mark the first time in the events history where disability will be discussed as a key issue on the main stage.
You can watch all of the #DIVERSish films here: https://bit.ly/2ROgn6K
Self-contained, 76sq ft Office with natural daylight, on the 4th floor of a building on Great Portland Street, W1
Ideally suited to a small two person Creative, Media based small business or start-up.
– 24hr secure access
– Kitchenette / WC facilities
– Access to a fully maintained Roof Terrace space
– Access to a separate pre-bookable meeting room.
– FOH / Reception service if required
– Shared 200Mbps Dedicated Fibre Internet
– IP Phone System
The rest of the building is occupied by Recording Studios, Visual Production & Graphic Services with whom preferential rates can be negotiated.
Price: £2500 pcm including all bills.
For more information e-mail ben@factory.uk.com
We are absolutely delighted to have been presented with two awards for sound at the 2018 Kinsale Sharks.
Anthony and Mark’s spectacular work on ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ for John Lewis & Partners was awarded a Gold Shark for Best Sound Mixing.
Phil also picked up a Silver Shark for Best Sound Mixing with his stunning work on Audi’s ‘Escape’.
This year the Kinsale Shark Awards introduced a new award to recognise emerging new talent within the industry and we are thrilled to announce that our very own Mark Hills was named as the Best New Sound Designer for 2018!
Big thanks to the Kinsale Sharks and all our friends and clients who were involved in the winning work.
We are pleased to announce the release of our recent work on short film ‘Fern’ by Johnny Kelly and Nexus Studios.
The short film has been featured in several film festivals and recently won ‘Best Comedy Short’ at Rhode Island Film Festival!
Fern stars Monica Dolan as a woman grieving the recent loss of her husband when she forms an unlikely relationship with a houseplant. The sound design was an important part of the story telling, particularly when bringing the character of the fern to life in this dark comedy.
Sound designers Jon Clarke and James Utting, speaking about the creative process, said “after testing out creature voices and experimenting with pitching sounds of animals and people noises, we settled on stripping back the amount needed, to arrive at a point where there is intrigue and curiosity without over-selling the idea that the plant is alive.”
James added, “we spent time adding layers of foley to give the film depth” and to ensure that the sound was “very natural in order to direct the audience’s attention to the drama unfolding on screen”.
You can watch the entire film online here vimeo.com/johnnykelly/fern
We are absolutely thrilled to have won two Music + Sound Awards for 2018!
Mark Hills received Best Sound Design for Radio Advertising with his work on BBC Winter Olympics, ‘Plummeting’.
This striking radio spot was a standout piece of work in the BBC's Winter Olympics campaign for 2018, have a listen for yourself here...
Our second MAS Award saw Mark collaborate with James Utting to win Best Sound Design for Short Film with their stunning work on Land of Steel, directed by Chris Thomas. Have a listen to this beautifully crafted film here...
Thanks to the MAS Awards for honouring our work and congratulations to all involved in these incredible projects.
‘Kissing Candice’, the debut feature film from Aoife McArdle is released in cinemas across Ireland today!
We were thrilled to add our creative expertise to this stunning feature film, with sound design from Anthony Moore and an original score from Jon Clarke that was produced by SIREN.
The film follows the story of 17 year old Candice and is a brooding coming of age story.
The rich symbolism and dream world segments of her journey meant that creative sound design and a dynamic musical score were key to helping bring her story to life.
There have been some great reviews of the film, with the sound design and music picking up many plaudits…
“great sound design, a nightmarish moodscape, and a propulsive musical score from Jon Clarke.”- The Guardian
“… individual shots stick firmly in the brain. Characters linger. The impressive sound design makes its own throbbing case...”- The Irish Times
Don't miss this fantastic film, in cinemas now.
You can stream or purchase Jon Clarke's stunning Original Score for Kissing Candice on Spotify and Apple Music or via the SIREN website.
We are so proud to have been a part of the team responsible for creating this year’s Cannes Lions Film Craft Grand Prix, ‘Hope’ made for the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The short film by Sra Rushmore and directed by James Rouse at Blur Productions, tells the heart breaking story of a father desperately seeking medical attention for his wounded daughter in a war-torn city.
The sound design and music were a crucial part in bringing this story to life. Anthony Moore, sound designer, speaking about the project, said "it was essential that above all we were authentic in helping tell this story."
This film saw us working closely with our sister company, Siren, to deliver an exceptional and immersive music score composed by Jon Clarke.
Film Jury President Diane McArter, founder and president of Furlined Productions, said, "We looked for deeper meaning, the ways in which craft truly engages us in an empathetic connection.” That's the pinnacle of great craftsmanship--"a piece of work that connect us to our humanity to our deeper truth." The Grand Prix film "plunged us into another world and put us into the shoes of others."
We offer our utmost congratulations to all involved in the making of this important and powerful film!
What a night at this years British Arrows Awards!
We are absolutely honoured to have been awarded Gold and Silver Arrows for Best Sound Design!
Neil picked up Gold for his stunning work on Oxfam’s ‘The Heist No One Is Talking About’ which was directed by Tom Green at Stink.
Phil was awarded Silver for some sterling sound work on FIFA 18, ‘More Than A Game’ which was directed by Adam Berg at Smuggler.
To top off a wonderful night for the Factory Family, it was great to see SIREN pick up two Silver awards for their music on Waitrose 'Snowed In' and Oxfam's 'The Heist'.
Massive thanks and congratulations go out to all involved.
We are absolutely delighted to have been presented with Gold and Bronze Awards for sound design at this years Creative Circle.
Neil received a Gold Award for Best Sound Design for his work on Oxfam’s powerful short film, ‘The Heist No One Is Talking About’ which was directed by Tom Green.
Anthony picked up a Bronze for his work with Smith & Foulkes on the BBC’s Winter Olympics TV campaign.
It was also a successful awards night for our sister company Siren who were presented with a Silver award for Best Music Composition on Oxfam, ‘The Heist…’
Congratulations to all involved!
We are very proud to have been chosen as February's Aerial Award winner for our work on McDonalds 'Beef Fairytales'.
The radio ad was crafted by our very own Dan Beckwith for Leo Burnett!
The Aerial Awards stand to celebrate the best in British radio advertising with each month's winner being chosen by an influential industry figure.
Have a listen to the spot here...
Please join us for our annual Short Film Showcase to sample some of the brilliant short films we've been involved with over the past year.
The screening will take place from 7pm on Thursday 8th March at Dolby, Soho Square (4-6 Soho Square, W1D 3PZ)
Entry is on a first come first served basis, so please register your interest to attend by emailing rsvp@factory.uk.com
We look forward to seeing you there!
We are delighted to have won the award for Outstanding Sound in a TV commercial at this year’s HPAs. Anthony’s work for Channel 4’s iconic, ‘We’re The Superhumans’ saw us pick up the accolade at the recent ceremony in Los Angeles. This award marks the fifth consecutive year that the Hollywood Professional Association have recognised our sound design work. The category also featured a nomination for Anthony’s work on Virgin Media ‘This is Fibre’, whilst Neil, Jack & Ant were also shortlisted for Honda 'Up'.
The HPA Awards recognises individuals and companies for outstanding contributions made in the creation of feature films, television, commercials, and entertainment content. We are immensely proud to have been the recipients of the Outstanding Sound honour over the past five years.
Anthony, our Founding Partner & Creative Director says,
"Thank you to the HPA Awards for once again recognising our work. To be nominated is an honour, but to win a fifth consecutive award for Outstanding Sound is utterly amazing! It's great to see the impact that 'We're The Superhumans' has made on audiences around the globe. It's a special film and we are proud to have been a part of it."
We are delighted to have our work awarded at this years Shots Awards.
Anthony and Jon's work on Temptations 'Keep them Busy' picked a silver award for Best Use of Sound Design in a Commercial.
A massive congratulations to all our friends and clients involved in creating the evenings recognised work.
Amazing work!
We are thrilled to have been presented with a Craft Grand Prix and a Gold for sound design at this year’s Cresta Awards!
Anthony’s work on Dougal Wilson’s epic Channel 4 Paralympics ‘We’re the Superhumans’, received the highly revered Craft Grand Prix for outstanding sound design. Meanwhile Jon’s work on the powerful Save The Children ‘Still the Most Shocking Second a Day’ won a sound design Gold for Television Craft.
The Cresta International Advertising Awards recognises outstanding work from around the world and we are honoured to have received these incredible awards.
We are extremely honoured to have been named the Global Music & Sound Company of the Year at The London International Awards 2017. It is the second consecutive year that we have been awarded this accolade which recognises the breadth of our sound design work for clients in the UK, the US and beyond. In conjunction with this, the LIA also named us as their inaugural European Music & Sound Company of 2017 whilst also recognising specific work for BWin, UEFA and Honda.
The 32nd annual London International Awards judging week was held in Las Vegas and saw renowned jurors from across the industry, including our very own Anthony Moore, judge outstanding work from around the globe.
In the Music & Sound category, Phil and Jon picked up Best Sound Editing Bronze awards for their work on BWin ‘The Race’ and UEFA ‘Come Play’ respectively. Anthony, Neil and Jack’s work for Honda ‘Up' also made the jury's final shortlist for outstanding Sound Design.
Coupled with these wins, our involvement in providing sound design across a host of other LIA award winning projects saw us awarded the honour of both Global and European Music &Sound Company of the Year.
Anthony Moore, Founding Partner & Creative Director at Factory said,
"We are unbelievably proud to be named LIA Global Music and Sound Company of the Year for the second year running. It's a massive honour to have been involved with so many high calibre creative projects over the past twelve months. A big thank you must go to all our friends and clients who allow us the opportunity to bring our skills to their amazing projects."
We’re chuffed to have collected three awards at the Kinsale Sharks this year!
Anthony, Neil & Jack’s work on Honda ‘Up’ picked up Bronze for Best Sound Design in TV Advertising.
The Short Film category saw Jon pick up Gold for Best Sound for ‘Pink/Blue’, whilst Mike Hitches won Gold for Best Original Score with his SIREN produced composition for 'Breath'.
A huge thank you to all of our esteemed clients for working with us on these excellent projects. It's a huge honour to have our work recognised by The Kinsale Shark Awards.
Our latest feature project ‘Kissing Candice’ premieres on Friday September 8th at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Written and directed by the super talented Aoife McArdle, the film features sound design by Anthony Moore and Jon Clarke. To complete the soundscape of the film, a stunning original score was composed by Jon and produced by SIREN.
If you’re going to be in Toronto for the festival, tickets are available to purchase here!
Here's what TIFF say about this stunning feature...
“This searing drama about youth at risk in smalltown Ireland marks the auspicious feature debut of director Aoife McArdle, a rising star who brings a lush, sensuous eye to even the darkest scenarios. Featuring an arresting performance from Ann Skelly, Kissing Candice is about a girl growing up in a very scary place — and the imaginings that might literally represent her only way out.”
Don't miss Kissing Candice.
Coming soon to a cinema near you!
We are absolutely delighted to have won four awards at this years Music+Sound Awards!
Phil’s work on Save The Children’s ‘#EveryLastChild’ picked up the prize for Best Sound Design in TV Advertising. Meanwhile, Jon managed to pick up an incredible hat trick of MAS Awards with ‘HOME’ being awarded Best Sound Design in a Short Film, and his work on Save The Children’s ‘Still The Most Shocking Second A Day’ scooping Best Sound Design in Online Advertising, as well as Best Audio Mix in a Commercial.
Massive thanks to all our friends and clients involved in these fantastic projects. To say we're over the moon would be an understatement! Big thanks to the Music+Sound Awards for recognising our work.
We're very honoured and immensely proud.
We are thrilled to have a total of TEN nominations at this years Music+Sound Awards.
In the Best Sound Design category, Save The Children’s ‘Still The Most Shocking Second A Day’ and Temptations ‘Keep Them Busy’ are up for Online, Viral & Ambient Advertising, whilst ‘HOME’ and ‘Julius Caesar’ are up for Short Film. Channel 4’s ‘We’re The Superhumans’ and Save The Children’s ‘#EveryLastChild’ represent in the Broadcast Advertising category.
We also have four nominations up for Best Audio Mix in a Commercial with Save The Children’s ‘Still The Most Shocking Second A Day’, Channel 4’s ‘We’re The Superhumans’, as well as Under Armour ‘Numbers’ and Virgin Media ‘9.58’.
What an honour!
This year's Cannes Lions Festival saw success for three amazing projects of ours.
Jon’s outstanding work on Save The Children’s ‘Still The Most Shocking Second A Day’ resulted in a Silver Lion for Sound Design in the Film Craft category.
Another project of Jon's, the powerful short film ‘HOME’, followed on from its recent win at the BAFTA's to pick up a Gold Entertainment Lion for Cinema & Theatrical.
And to top it all off, Channel 4’s stunning, ‘We’re The Superhumans’, was awarded the the highly coveted Grand Prix for Film! 'Superhumans' saw great success at this year's event, winning an incredible four Golds and six Silvers to add to it's well deserved Grand Prix.
We are extremely honoured to have been part of these fantastic Lions winning projects.
Congratulations and thanks to all involved!
We are very pleased to announce that Mark Hills has joined our award-winning team of sound designers here at Factory.
Mark started his career in sound design in 2012, very quickly moving his way up the Soho engineering ranks. Working across a wide range of projects from advertising to broadcast, feature films to games; Mark's experience, enthusiasm and sublime sound design skills, are a perfect fit for Factory.
Since his arrival, Mark has already created some great work for Lacoste, Jury's Inn, PayPal and the Cannes New Directors Showcase.
For more information, or to book Mark, please contact bookings@factory.uk.com
We recently created a stunning Dolby Atmos mix for Vue as part of the brand’s ‘This Is Not A Cinema’ campaign.
Working with advertising agency Joint and director Rama Allen at The Mill+, Anthony Moore and Phil Bolland were tasked with creating an immersive sound-scape utilising Dolby Atmos technology in our purpose built Dolby Atmos suite.
The aim of the film is to put the viewer at the heart of the Vue cinema experience. This idea was key to the initial sound design brief, as Founding Partner and Creative Director Anthony explains, “Every sequence of the film is designed to immerse you in what Vue has to offer as a cinema. From the outset of this project, we set about designing our sounds so that they would fully utilise the creative possibilities offered by mixing in Dolby Atmos. We wanted to make the cinema audience have a physical reaction to the sound. We wanted them not only to hear it, but to feel it.”
Working with the music track ‘The Rift’ by Solomon Grey, we were able to create a bespoke mix of the track in Dolby Atmos using the music stems. Being able to accurately place and move the music within the cinema created a spine tingling experience in the room.
“The Solomon Grey track was a perfect choice for this project. It’s a beautiful wash of warm pads that simply sounds wonderful when mixed in Dolby Atmos. We specifically started the music in the rear speakers and slowly brought the lush pads forward and over the heads of the audience as the track revealed itself to the room. It immediately got the ‘hairs on the back of the neck’ tingling and was a really fresh way to open the film," said Anthony.
Moore and Bolland then set about creating sound design elements to enhance the storytelling and cinematic experience of each sequence of the film. These sounds were then placed as objects within the Dolby Atmos environment to create a thoroughly compelling and immersive final mix. The film was delivered nationwide to Vue cinemas in Dolby Atmos, 7.1 and 5.1. with the 7.1 and 5.1 mixes accurately created using the Dolby Atmos re-render technology of the RMU. Ben Firth, Head of Technical oversaw the final delivery.
“It was imperative for this project that the audience experienced the full impact of our Atmos mix, regardless of the in-cinema surround sound setup. Being able to utilise the re-rendering tools available through the Dolby RMU allowed us to smoothly manage the delivery of the 7.1 and 5.1 mixes without compromising the integrity of our original Atmos mix.”
‘This Is Not A Cinema’ is designed to highlight Vue’s leadership in event cinema. The film forms part of Vue’s in-cinema experience and will be played before every film, in every screen, at every Vue location nationwide. It’s estimated the film will be viewed over 37 million times each year.
The film also shows our commitment to pushing the creative capabilities of Dolby Atmos since the installation of our Atmos suite in 2015. With a host of new Dolby Atmos projects lined up for the remainder of 2017, we are paving the way for our clients to experience and utilise truly immersive sound.
Vue ‘This Is Not A Cinema’ can be viewed here as a stereo mix, but is best enjoyed in one of Vue’s Dolby Atmos equipped cinemas.
For any Dolby Atmos mixing enquiries or demos, please contact lou@factory.uk.com
It was a fantastic night for us at this years British Arrows awards. Anthony and Jon’s work for Temptations 'Keep Them Busy’ took home the Gold for Best Sound Design!
This years win marked our third consecutive Gold Arrow for Best Sound Design; following on from Honda 'The Other Side’ in 2015 and Save The Children 'Still The Most Shocking Second A Day’ in 2016. An amazing achievement!
Thank you to the British Arrows and everyone involved in these projects, we are extremely proud.
We are thrilled to have received two awards at this years New York Festival.
Held in Manhattan in New York City, Jon was in attendance to collect First Prize for his work on Save The Children’s ‘Still The Most Shocking Second A Day’, and also Second Prize for Anthony’s work on Channel 4’s ‘We're The Superhumans’.
We’re very proud!
We are extremely proud to have won a Silver and a Bronze at this year’s A-List Hollywood Awards!
Jon’s stunning work on Save The Children's ‘Still The Most Shocking Second A Day’ secured a Silver in Sound Design for Film Advertising Crafts.
Anthony also bagged a Bronze award for his sound design on Channel 4’s iconic ‘We’re The Superhumans’ campaign.
A huge thank you and congratulations to all of our friends and clients involved in these brilliant projects.
We're stoked!
It was an incredible night for Channel 4’s ‘We're The Superhumans’ at this years The One Show.
This iconic film took home a Gold and the Best In Discipline Award for the Moving Image Craft category. Congrats once again to all involved!
We are honoured to have been awarded four Best Sound Design Pencils at this years D&AD awards.
The night saw us take home Wood Pencils for Save The Children’s ‘Every Last Child’ as well as Under Armour’s ‘Prince With A 1000 Enemies’ and ‘Numbers', and a Graphite Pencil for Save The Children’s ‘Still The Most Shocking Second A Day’.
We are also delighted to have been a part of Channel 4's 'We're The Superhumans', which was awarded two highly regarded Black Pencils, for Film Advertising Direction, and TV Commercials.
What a fantastic achievement!
We are extremely proud to have three pieces of work shortlisted for Best Sound Design at this years British Arrows Awards!
Sonnet Insurance ‘Balloon', Temptations ‘Keep Them Busy’, and Honda ‘Up’ all feature in the Craft shortlist.
Looking forward to the big night!
We are delighted to have four shortlisted pieces of work in the Film Craft Best Sound Design category at this years Creative Circle Awards.
The nominated work includes Virgin Media ‘9.58 Seconds’, Save The Children ’Still The Most Shocking Second A Day’, Glenfiddich ’The Experimental Series’, and Under Armour ’Numbers’.
Fingers crossed for the night!
We we will be hosting a very special instalment of our Short Film Showcase next week as we feature two fantastic films... the inspirational WONDERKID and the BAFTA-winning HOME.
This exclusive screening is from 7pm on Friday 3rd March at Dolby Europe, Soho.
Entry is on a first come first served basis, so please register your interest to attend by emailing rsvp@factory.uk.com
We look forward to seeing you there.
We are extremely proud to announce that HOME was awarded Best British Short Film at this years BAFTA!
HOME, directed by Daniel Mulloy and starring Jack O’Connell and Holliday Grainger, follows a comfortable English family who experience a life-changing journey of their own. The film puts the spotlight on the current refugee crisis and is a project that endeavours to open up an important debate around a very serious issue of our time.
We are all thrilled and honoured to be a part of such a brave and vital film. You can watch the trailer here, and the moment it won here.
In honour of it's win at the BAFTA's, we will be showcasing HOME at our upcoming Short Film Showcase on Friday 3rd March. The showing will also include a one off Q&A with some of the team behind it, including our very own Jon Clarke.
More details to follow soon!
We were delighted to host the launch of the first ever Dolby Atmos mastered gaming experience for the video game Battlefield 1.
Working with Havas Sports & Entertainment Cake and EA, we welcomed fans and critics alike to showcase what it sounds like to play and hear the game in our Dolby Atmos suite.
You can read a review from Trusted Reviews here…
With some exciting developments planned for 2017, the Factory Family would like to keep you updated on our latest news. Please subscribe to our Mailing List by signing up here…
We're very proud to have won December's Aerial Award for our work on McDonalds 'Greg & Sean'.
The spot was put together by our very own Dan Beckwith for Leo Burnett and was featured in this week's edition of Campaign.
The Aerial Awards celebrate the best of British radio advertising with each month's winner chosen by an influential figure within the advertising industry.
Have a listen to the ad here...
We are absolutely thrilled to see that HOME has been nominated for Best British Short Film at this years BAFTA Awards. With beautifully crafted sound design and a stunning theatrical mix from our very own Jon Clarke, the film is a compelling take on the current refugee crisis.
HOME was written and directed by BAFTA-winning director Daniel Mulloy and produced by Black Sheep Studios, SomeSuch and Dokufest. The film had its world premiere at last years SXSW Festival and has continued to receive critical acclaim from audiences around the world.
It's an amazing achievement for HOME to be recognised by BAFTA and we are honoured to be a part of such a fantastic project and all that it stands for. Congratulations to all involved!
We are thrilled to see our work featured at this years Eurobest Awards.
Jon’s impeccable work for Save The Children’s ‘Still The Most Shocking Second A Day’ picked up a Silver for Best Sound Design, whilst Anthony's sterling work for Channel 4's 'We're The Superhumans' saw the project pick up the highly coveted Film Craft Grand Prix!
Congratulations to all involved.
We are absolutely delighted to have picked up Gold for Sound Design at this years British Arrows Craft Awards.
With 5 pieces of our work shortlisted in the final 10 nominations, the night saw Jon’s work on the powerful Save The Children 'Still The Most Shocking Second A Day’ take home Gold. We were also thrilled to see Channel 4 Paralympics ‘We're The Superhumans’ pick up Best Crafted Commercial.
A huge congratulations to all our friends and clients involved in the evenings winning and nominated work.
This is an incredible end to a fantastic award-winning year for Factory, and we are all extremely proud.
We are honoured to have picked up Outstanding Sound in a Commercial at this years HPA Awards for the fourth consecutive year!
With Factory involved in four of the five shortlisted projects, the awards evening in Los Angeles saw Anthony and Neil’s work on Sainsbury’s ‘Mog's Christmas Calamity’ pick up the winning accolade.
Congratulations and thanks to all involved!
We are very happy to have received Gold and Bronze awards for Best Use of Sound Design at this years Shots Awards.
Anthony’s work on the epic Channel 4 Paralympics 'We're The Superhumans’ received the Gold, whilst Jon picked up a Bronze for the powerful Save The Children ‘Still The Most Shocking Second A Day’.
Amazing work!
This years London International Awards saw Factory named as the Music & Sound Company of the Year. We also picked up Gold, Silver and Bronze awards for our work for Honda and Save The Children.
The LIA awarded work saw Anthony pick up a Gold for Best Sound Design with Honda 'Ignition', Phil was awarded a Silver for Honda 'Paper' and Jon received a Bronze for Save The Children’s 'Still The Most Shocking Second A Day'. Anthony Moore and Neil’s work for Sainsbury’s 'Mog's Christmas Calamity' also made the jury's final shortlist for outstanding Sound Design.
The 31st annual London International Awards judging week was held in Las Vegas, and saw a jury of renowned industry figures judge the best work from around the world. Factory was awarded Music & Sound Company of the Year based on our trio of LIA award wins, plus our involvement across a host of other LIA award winning projects.
Anthony Moore, Founding Partner & Creative Director at Factory said, "Music & Sound Company of the Year is an amazing accolade to receive from the LIA's. It makes me very proud that our work has been held in such high esteem by the jury and it's testament to all the hard work put in by the whole team at Factory. Thanks to all our friends, collaborators and clients for the amazing sound design briefs. 2016 has been a fantastic journey for us all."
We are extremely proud to have received Gold and Bronze awards for sound design at this years Cresta Awards.
Phil's stunning work on Honda 'Paper' received the Gold award, whilst Anthony picked up a Bronze for the exhilarating Honda 'Ignition'.
The Cresta International Advertising Awards recognises the best work from around the world and we are thrilled to have received these amazing honours.
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